The brows have it

For many years, brows have ruled the beauty world and we now have a multitude of products and treatments to choose from to tame, fill and sculpt. From pomades to pencils, pens to crayons, gels to salon treatments such as microblading and tinting.

Up until a few years ago, I was quite scared of applying anything to my brows. I admit it took some practice, but I promise that anyone can learn. As a first stop, I always recommend a visit to a brow professional, for a consultation, shaping and tinting.  They will create a guide for you to fill in any sparse areas at home, a bit like colouring within the lines. I go to Total Brow here in Perth on a 6 – 8 week basis for tinting and shaping.

Since I jumped on the brow bandwagon a few years ago, I have been trying and testing various brow products and I have finally settled on three favourites which I think are standouts in their categories.

Le Sourcil Le Crayon Eyebrow Pencil

My favourite type of brow pencil is without a doubt the fine, micro pencil. It allows you to draw individual hair strokes meaning you only fill in the bits that you need to, leaving the brows looking very natural. I really like to be able to see some skin between and underneath the brow hairs.

I went through a few brands before finding the right formula and colour.  Le Crayon Eyebrow Pencil by Parisian brand Le Sourcil offers 11 shades and a long lasting, waterproof formula. The pencil is retractable and very precise due to its hard and waxy texture and the II Cold Brunette shade is perfect for those searching for a dark brown that leans strongly to grey, without a hint of red. It’s a knockout product and better than the Anastasia Brow Wiz in my opinion, which I found too soft and easy to get carried away with.

The only downside is that it doesn’t have a spooly on the other end. They sell it separately and admittedly they are a pretty handy tool to have in your kit, but a built in spooly would be great for on the go application. I use Mecca Cosmetica’s Brow tool to brush through my brows.

tmf Brow Set

I never expected to like a brow pomade because I thought they were designed for very bold brows. I’m happy to say, I was wrong. One of the girls at Total Brow used the tmf Brow Set in Dark on me and guided me through the application process, which resulted in a soft and natural finish.

It has a great formulation that is so smooth, making it quick and easy to apply with an angled brush (I use the other side of the Mecca Cosmetica Brow tool). I take a bit off on the back of my hand before creating hair strokes and filling in gaps and despite being creamy and moisturising, it stays put all day.  If you’ve tried other pomades and found them too thick or dry, then you must try this. It might just change your mind about them.

The Brow Set has some lovely ingredients to nourish your brows and it doubles as an eyeshadow as well. tmf is a local Perth beauty company that’s sustainable, earth friendly and chemical free. This product is vegan friendly and cruelty free.

Glossier Boy Brow

Glossier Boy Brow famously had a 10,000 name waiting list at one point. I tend to be quite skeptical about Instagram hype and I was already in a committed relationship with Benefit’s Gimme Brow. Nevertheless, curious beauty junkies are quite predictable and always looking to find the next best thing so I decided to try the Boy Brow in Brown (it also comes in Clear, Blonde and Black).

Oh boy, this stuff gives your brows so much body, dimension and oomph. The formula seems quite wet at first and you have to be careful not to overload the hairs. When I first used it I went completely overboard (hello Groucho Marx) so now I scrape some product off the wand before applying. I wish I didn’t have to do this, but it seems to be a thing with brow gels.

What really cements my love for Boy Brow is that once it sets, the hairs do not budge but at the same time they are not crispy and they allow you to move them along with your facial expressions (always handy!). The product is marketed as an all in one but if you have some sparse areas like me, this isn’t going to magically fill them in. I use either the aforementioned Le Sourcil pencil or the tmf Brow Set to fill, and then go in with the Boy Brow. I expect fibre eyebrow gels to amplify and set the brow hairs and this does just that.

The downside is that Glossier are based in New York City and do not ship to Australia at the moment. I purchased my first Boy Brow on eBay and since then I’ve also shopped from Glossier’s website by using a freight-forwarding service such as ShopMate or HopShopGo. It’s worth it for this one (and most of their other products too, but more on that in another post). Glossier products are cruelty free.

I hope that I have given you a guide to what can be achieved with the right products. Let me know what your favourite brow products are in the comments below.

Next week: Natural deodorant pastes and creams.